KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — On one side of the field is Argentina, the defender. world cup The champions boast a roster featuring the likes of Lautaro Martínez, Julián Álvarez and, of course, Lionel Messi. probably the greatest player of his generation.
Switzerland is on the other side.
yes, Last match of the quarterfinals Saturday night doesn’t seem like such a big mismatch. It goes without saying that Argentina has glitz and glamour. stars and trophiesSwitzerland, on the other hand, has never even reached the World Cup semi-finals. In fact, they have not advanced to the quarterfinals since 1954, when they lost to Austria in the host tournament.
But as Argentina and the rest of the world learned when the three-time champions struggled, anything can happen on the field. To beat Cape VerdeAnd when La Albiceleste had to recover from a 2-0 deficit in the final 11 minutes to win against egypt on tuesday. And it gave hope to the Swiss team, who defeated Colombia in a penalty shootout to earn a match against Argentina at Arrowhead Stadium.
Defensive midfielder and team captain Granit Xhaka said on Friday: “We know that Argentina has many good qualities. Few people talk about the Swiss qualities.” “Tomorrow we will talk on the pitch and show what we can do. Nothing else matters.”
winner plays either norway or england The tournament will be held in Atlanta on Wednesday with a spot in the World Cup finals on the line.
“It’s obviously a very tough challenge,” Swiss defender Manuel Akanji said. “But I think we’re ready. I think we can make it difficult for any opponent we play. We know it’s going to be difficult, but we’re going to do our best.”
It all starts with Switzerland’s defense, which allowed just three goals in five games and shut out Luis Diaz and Colombia for 120 minutes. round 16. The task of stopping Messi’s attractive World Cup bid will fall on the shoulders of Xhaka and Akanji, along with Remo Freuler, Nico Elvedi and goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
La Albiceleste, on the other hand, are currently unbeaten in 11 World Cup matches, scoring multiple goals in each match, and are tied with Uruguay for the longest streak in the history of the tournament.
Messi had Hat trick against Algeria In the group match held at Arrowhead Stadium, Including France national team forward Kylian Mbappé. They each scored eight goals in the race for the Golden Boot. The 39-year-old Argentina captain has scored a record 21 goals in his World Cup career, including at least one in a record six consecutive knockout matches.
Against Egypt, Messi leveled the score in the 83rd minute, and Enzo Fernandes scored the winning goal in stoppage time.
“He should be an example for them, especially for the players on the bench, who watch Lionel Messi play and can’t believe it,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “He tried again and again and it gave me goosebumps.”
He may give goosebumps to his own team, but Messi gives his opponents a different kind of chill.
“I don’t know if I can stop him for more than 90 minutes. It will be difficult,” Xhaka said. “But we have to be smart, compact, close the gaps and not give him too much space. We’re just trying to play our game.”
Switzerland expects injuries in quarter-final match against Argentina
Argentina look to be in good shape heading into the match, but Switzerland will likely be out of form again. Without midfielder Johan Manzabi Due to a knee injury. The SC Freiburg star scored two goals in a 4-1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the group stage.
“We did everything we could to get him back to his best condition,” Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said. “Momentum was on his side and there was so much joy when he played. And he had his teammates by his side. Everything has been going very well for him so far.”
Relieve from the heat and humidity of Kansas City
One of the big concerns for the game in Kansas City was the weather. In addition to severe storms in the Heartland, the summer also had heat indexes that often exceeded triple digits. However, temperatures at the start of the game should be in the low 80s Fahrenheit (30s Celsius), with a slight chance of precipitation.
Attention the referees
In some matches during the World Cup, The spotlight shines on the refereebut FIFA decided to turn their attention there before this match started. Typically, FIFA tries to appoint referees from different federations to avoid potential bias. But Saturday night’s match will be overseen by João Pinheiro of Portugal, a fellow UEFA member of Switzerland.
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